Lady Gaga 'ARTPOP': How the Female Pop Scene Has Changed Since Gaga's Last Album

Lady Gaga has been down-and-out for nearly six months now, after a tear in her hip prompted the singer to cancel the rest of her Born This Way Ball Tour. It's been longer than that since the pop star released new music, with her second full-length album going on sale over two years ago in May of 2011. But, the powerful pop diva is back with the lead single from her next album ARTPOP debuting in just over a month.

A lot has changed in the world of female pop singers since Gaga last put out new music, though. During her last era, the Lady's songs were charting along with fellow queens Adele, Katy Perry and Rihanna. Since then, Adele has had a baby and has been taking it slow with her next  album. Katy Perry has dropped off the radar too, planning a new album with producer Dr. Luke that will likely spawn songs that sound like the rest of her chart-toppers. Rihanna has continued her reign and has produced music very quickly, something the Barbadian singer is infamous for. Ri has released two albums, Talk That Talk and Unapologetic, since Born This Way's release.

Today, the world of female pop music is relatively small, but it shows a bright future for the next generation of pop queens. All four of America's favorite young, female pop personas have released singles charting in the top 10 or higher on Billboard's Hot 100. Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato have taken their music to a new level, with singles "Come & Get it" and "Heart Attack" charting at number six and number ten on the Hot 100, respectively. Ariana Grande, a Nickelodeon star turned pop star with powerhouse vocals, released a new single entitled "The Way" featuring Mac Miller charting at number nine.

And, of course, veteran of the business Miley Cyrus has made a record-breaking comeback with a fresh new look, generating conversation and debate. The Hannah Montana turned sex symbol star released her comeback single "We Can't Stop" in early June. Since then, the song has reached number three and is still climbing on the Hot 100. The video for "We Can't Stop" has also garnered the most views for a music video ever in 24 hours at 10.7 million views.

Billboard's latest Hot 100 chart from the week of July 20 shows how the female pop presence has dwindled, with Miley and Selena being the only two female pop acts in the top ten with We Can't Stop and Come & Get It. This does not include Anna Kendrick's hit from the movie Pitch Perfect which is currently charting at number ten on the list.

In all honesty, though, the existence of Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato as the world's next generation of pop queens won't impact the commercial and musical success of ARTPOP. The span of time between Born This Way and ARTPOP won't hurt the albums success either, and will likely help the music set by boosting anticipation.

With ARTPOP, Gaga won't conform to the music trends of today because she isn't looking to make hit songs with no substance or cultural impact. Instead, she's looking to change music. In her ARTPOP announcement, Gaga says she wants to "bring the music industry into a new age; an age where art drives pop, and the artist once again is in control of the icon." Hell, maybe even Gaga will have a song featuring Miley Cyrus on the album. That would be a heavenly convergence of the old and new generations of pop queens, truly putting the artist in complete control of the icon. Whatever that means.